Cedar Rapids Dojos happen on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays each month, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

CoderDojo will take a break this summer while we host summer camps. The next CoderDojo is August 18th, 2018, from 1-3 pm at the Geonetric building in NewBo.

What is CoderDojo?CoderDojo is an open source, volunteer-led movement orientated around running free, not-for-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people. Since CoderDojo is open source, all Dojos are different and completely autonomous!

At CoderDojo, young people in Kindergarten through 5th grade to learn how to code, program robots, develop websites, apps, programs, electronics, games, and more. Dojos are set up, run by, and taught by volunteers. In addition to learning to code, members meet like minded people and show off what they’ve been working on. CoderDojo makes development and learning to code a fun and sociable experience. CoderDojo also puts great emphasis on open source and free software and has a network of members globally. CoderDojo has just one rule: “Above All: Be Cool” so bullying, lying, and wasting people’s time is not allowed.

What do I need to bring?Bring a laptop computer (Mac or Windows preferred, though Chromebooks are ok for some of the younger kids’ activities). Note that some sessions have specific hardware or software requirements, which will be pointed out in the course description on our Facebook page.

We have about 20 additional computers to share if you don’t have one or if you forget it.

A bit of historyCoderDojo is a nonprofit global movement founded by James Whelton and Bill Liao. It was first started in James Whelton’s school in early 2011 when James received some publicity after hacking the iPod Nano. Some younger students expressed an interest in learning how to code. He set up a computer club in his school (PBC Cork) where he started teaching basic HTML and CSS. Later that year he met Bill Liao, an entrepreneur, and philanthropist, who was interested in growing the project into something bigger. In June 2011, the first CoderDojo took place in the National Software Centre in Cork which saw great success. By making the movement open source, it has led to hundreds of dedicated champions setting up more Dojos around Ireland and, subsequently around the world.